Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Father and Son Italia trip

Some choice recommendations, we’ve clearly a bit of homework to do. Alpine passes are a must but we’ll heed the word of caution re possible closures, I’m really hoping the weather will be kind, not bothered about heat, just dry and clear will do .
I’m pleased to learn the Alfa museum was good, that’s on our hit list for sure, Ferrari visit is also a given, good or bad it’s a must for us. We’ll need at least a couple of overnight stops in hotels on the way to our final base for which the young lad has spotted a house for hire in middle of a vineyard, quite fancy it.

I liked the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. Maybe you could combine it with a factory tour? Are you travelling to Italy with a British or an Italian car?🤠

I've done this trip myself but with the final destination being Greece. I'll dig out where I stayed etc and ping them to you Ewan. Seeing as you are likely going through Germany to get to Italy, I do recommend earmarking a bit of time to enjoy all that Germany has to offer. Amazing car museums if that is your thing but the general cultural POI are amazing as well.,

I’d love to do it in the Morgan but for reasons several fold it needs to be the Ferrari, mainly I’m probably fooling myself with the image of it all. That said, any Morgan would equally enhance a road trip like this, there’s a pleasure to being outstanding rather than blending in, not many cars can do this in good taste but Morgan has it nailed!.
The practical benefits of the Ferrari will be the stereo, the sat nav and cruise control for avoiding speeding on the boring bits, the fold on the move roof and most of all the extra space for my “a bit too big for the Morgan” son and his luggage 🤣
Having just bought the Ferrari, now’s the best time to make the most use of it, keeping it locked away terrified by the idea of adding mileage which could render the car worthless is daft, the car will never be in better condition, it has two years of fully comprehensive warranty and two free services yet to receive, it’s going to earn its keep!

Sometimes it matters not so much what is the conveyance to your destination but more the company and enjoying the journey together, I'm sure either car would bring great opportunities to enjoy the trip to Italy, Although there is probably something slightly more spiritual/poignant about taking a Ferrari back home to Italy. I experienced a similar opportunity when we took our UK Harleys back to ride in the USA ,on the very roads they were designed and built for, we will never forget that trip even though my motorcycling days and the Harleys are long gone.

What a great trip to look forward to

The same applies to Mandello del Lario
Less than an hour to Milan by train, within easy distance of some nice passes, and has the Moto Guzzi Museum.
You would need to book accomodation that has a garage, I assume, as you would not want to leave your P&J on the street.

We hardly ever go into Milan in the car and when we do we park on the outskirts and get the Metro in to the city centre.

Some of the less trafficked passes can be very narrow and not good if you or your passenger suffers from vertigo.

Worth noting that
Not something that is normally checked however if you did get pulled up for a control it is always possible, particularly if there were problems on a mountain pass. We have Michelin CrossClimate tyres on all our cars, including the Morgan, and these are certified for snow. Certainly not the best in snow but great on cold, wet, roads and legal all year round.

Mrs Image and I used to tour Europe back in the day .....but then stopped, thinking to travel to the more demanding places while we were young and tough, then pick up Europe again when the relative ease of getting about suited our changing needs .... so, unfortunately, my touring advice is of no good whatsoever (actually, that goes for a lot of my advice! 😄)

As for the vehicle, if you were touring to Malvern then the Morgan would be a must .... heading for the Ferrari factory makes your choice a no-brainer! .... though you could fully embrace the spirit of adventure and go to Italy in the Alfa!! 😄

Envious of the trip .... have a great time both of you.

K

Ps ... at the time (50 years ago) I liked Florence a lot ... but a lot can change in half a century !!

One thing I like about TM, we’re all like minded about the values in life. A trip like this is in its own way a coming of age thing for a man at my stage, if you’ve restrained yourself all your working life, it’s hard to adjust to frivolous use of time and indulgent use of your earnings but it’s now or never.

Even though, I’d have to be much younger or a lot older to do it in my old Alfa, we did speak about it and the conclusion was it wouldn’t be a big risk, if it broke down out there, we’d just jump on a flight home and leave it there to RIP😂

Vertigo on the passes won’t be a problem and although I’m not going to be precious about the car, I wouldn’t want to mangle a wheel up there, it’s not a quick fix for such a thing and those silly rubber band tyres won’t cope with much abuse.

Ewan ... You're still a mere youth compared to me ... you know the sand is running out when the bank call you in to see the Financial Advisor and he says "stop saving money" ... put aside a bit of a cushion for if the roof blows off then get spending (we have no kids) ... this is the day you were saving for ! 🙂

I concur with the philosophy behind using the Alfa ... the reason Haz and I used the 250 MZ for the overland camping run to Istanbul rather than the Harley was in case of a big issue .... we'd sling it in a ditch and work our way home by train 🙂 ... in the end the thing performed heroically 🙂

Great trip for you both.... imaging your lad in the future when cars are appliances and advebturousness is an anti-social trait recounting your trip over the Alps in a Ferrari !! 😁

K

While I don't regret taking the Morgan on my cross EU trip, I will never again do such a journey in it! Far too limited in many ways IMHO. I've done trips to Greece yearly when I lived in Germany and did so in unique, modern and sporty and enjoyed that much more if I'm bluntly honest. The Fezza will be epic on your trip!